Re: Laxdaela Saga 16 beginning -- Rob's Translation

I had time this week for some extended comments. (Doing
this is as much for my benefit as for anyone else's: it
makes me think things through thoroughly.) The translations
are all in the order Rob-Grace-Alan, unless I mucked up
somewhere.

At 7:42:57 AM on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, rob13567 wrote:

> Í þenna tíma kemur Ásgautur heim.

> During this time Asgaut comes home.
> At that time Asgaut comes home.
> At this time, Ásgautr comes home.

<Þenna> is indeed 'this'; 'that' would be <þann>.

> Vigdís fagnar honum vel og frétti hversu góðar viðtökur
> þeir hefðu að Sauðafelli.

> Vigdis receives him with good cheer and asked how good
> hospitality they had at Saudafell (Sheep-fell).

> Vigdis receives him well and asks how good a reception
> they had at Sheep Fells.

> Vigdís welcomes him well and asks how (whether) they had
> good receptions at Sauðafell.

Rob is right about <frétti>: the <-i> ending shows that it's
past tense. (Present would be <fréttir>.) <Viðtökur> is
indeed plural, but the sense is singular; Zoëga suggests
'hospitality', but 'reception' also works. I don't think
that there's any need to interpret <hversu> as 'whether'; so
far as I can see, 'how good hospitality'/'how good a
reception' fit the actual syntax. (I did some Googling and
found quite a few examples of this kind of usage in the
modern language, at least.)

> "Hefir þú nú Ásgautur," segir hún, "vel farið með þínu
> efni og trúlega.

> "You have now, Asgaut," she says, "well done with your (?)
> namesake and faithful (or "faithfully"?).

'Faithfully': <-lega> ~ <-liga> forms the adverb.

> "Now you, Asgaut, have done well," says she, " with your
> powers and faithfullness.

> ”You have now, Ásgautr,’she says, ‘well managed (see fara
> með, Z18) your dealings and faithfully.

I'm not sure where 'namesake' and 'powers' came from; unless
I'm hallucinating, neither appears in Zoëga s.v. <efni>.
What's wanted here is (3) 'matter, affair'. The noun is
neuter, and <með> can take either the accusative or the
neuter, so <efni> here can be dat. sing., acc. sing., or
acc. plur.; <þínu>, however, can only be dat. sing., so it's
'you have dealt well with your affair', 'you have managed
your affair well'. (Note that there are two idioms <fara
með>, <fara með e-t> with the accusative, and <fara með e-u>
with the dative, and it's the latter that we have here.)

> Þeir fá veður stór og ekki langa útivist.
> They got rough weather and not a long voyage.
> They get strong winds and not a long time at sea.
> They receive strong weather (winds) and not a long voyage.

Both senses, 'weather' and 'wind', are ancient; it's mostly
the fact that modern English <weather> has largely lost the
'wind' sense that makes us think of 'weather' first. (The
words probably come from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning
'to blow'.)

> Síðan fer Ásgautur til Danmerkur og staðfestist þar og
> þótti hraustur drengur.

> Next Asgaut goes to Denmark and took-up-his-abode there
> and was thought a valiant brave-man.

> Afterwards Asgaut goes to Denmark and settles there and
> (is) thought hearty (and) brave (man).

> After-that Ásgautr travels to Denmark and takes-up-abode
> there and seemed a valiant man.

I'd go with Rob's 'was thought'.

> Og endir þar sögu frá honum.
> And ends there (the) story of him.
> And there ends his tale.
> And (one) ends there (the) story about him.

Note that while Grace's is the most idiomatic of the three,
Alan's correctly capture the ON syntax.

> En eftir ráðagerð þeirra Þórðar godda og Ingjalds
> Sauðeyjargoða, þá er þeir vildu ráða bana Þórólfi frænda
> Vigdísar, lét hún þar fjandskap í móti koma og sagði
> skilið við Þórð godda og fór hún til frænda sinna og sagði
> þeim þetta.

> After their, Thord Godda's and Ingjald Saudeyjargoda's,
> agreement, then which they would cause the death of
> Vigdis's relative Thorolf, she let there hostility come
> against and declared herself divorced from Thord Goddi and
> she went to her relatives and told them this. (Z. ráða (4)
> - to plot or cause one's death, = r. e-m bana)

> And after their, Thord goddi's and Ingjald Sheep Island
> Chieftain's, planning, then when they wanted to plot death
> for Thorolf, Vigdis' kinsman, she allowed enmity to come
> in return and declared (herself) divorce from Thord goddi
> and she went to her kinsmen and told them that.

> But after the plans of them, Þórðr goddi and Ingjaldr
> Sauðeyjargoði (Sheep-Island-chieftain-priest), when they
> wanted to plan (the) death of Þórólf, kinsman of Vigdís,
> she (ie Vigdís) caused to bring hostility against (him, ie
> Þórðr) and announced a separation from Þórðr goddi and she
> travelled to her kinsmen and told this to them.

I think that Grace's 'in return' is probably right: this
seems to be an instance of <þar í móti> (Zoëga s.v. <þar>
(3)).

> Þórður gellir tók ekki vel á þessu og var þó kyrrt.

> Thord Geller didn't take this well and was nevertheless
> quiet.

> Thord gellir did not receive this well and nevertheless
> was quiet.

> Þórðr gellir did not take this well (see taka vel á e-u,
> Z12) and (but) (it) was (remained) evenso quiet.

It might seem at first that <Þórður gellir> could be the
subject of <var>, as Rob and Grace have it, but in that case
one would expect masculine <kyrr>, not neuter <kyrrt>.
There being no neuter noun in sight, <kyrrt> must be
describing something that has been omitted -- Alan's '(it)',
referring to the general situation in respect of this
matter.

> Vigdís hafði eigi meira fé á brott af Goddastöðum en gripi
> sína.

> Vigdis had not more wealth away of Gooddastod than her
> property. (???)

> Vigdis had no more money away from Goddasteads than her
> valuables.

> Vigdís had no more property away from Goddastaðir than her
> costly-things.

Note that <gripi> is (dative) *singular*; that suggests that
in this case it may mean just '(valuable) personal moveable
property'. It's conceivable that a past participle, perhaps
<numit> or <fœrt>, has been omitted here, and we should
understand it as 'V. had taken/brought no more wealth away
from G. than her [personal] property'; I simply don't know.

> Þeir Hvammverjar létu fara orð um að þeir ætluðu sér
> helming fjár þess er Þórður goddi hafði að varðveita.

> They, Hvammverjars, left go word concerning that they
> intended themselves half that wealth (?) which Thord Goddi
> has kept.

> They, the men of Hvamm let it be known that they intended
> half this money which Thord goddi had, to keep for
> themselves.

> They (the) Hvamm-folk, caused to go (spread) word about,
> that they intended for themselves half that property which
> Þórðr goddi had (ie was required to) preserve.

Even though the infinitive <að varðveita> is separated from
<ætla sér>, I think that Grace is probably right in thinking
that this is an instance of <ætla sér> + infinitive 'to
intend to do something'.

> Hann verður við þetta klökkur mjög og ríður þegar á fund
> Höskulds og segir honum til vandræða sinna.

> He responds to this much moved to tears and rides
> forthwith to meet Hoskuld and tells him of his difficulty.
> (Z. verða 8 - v. við e-m, to respond to)

> He became very ?? with that and rides at once to a meeting
> with Hoskuld and tells him of his difficulties.

> He becomes with this very affected (anxious, a blithering
> mess) and rides at-once to a meeting with Höskuldr and
> informs him of his trouble(s).

Grace: The adjective is <klökkr> 'soft, pliable, easily
affected'. CV adds the metaphorical extension 'soft, crying
faintly, moved to tears', giving this very sentence as its
first citation. (One might possibly guess at this from
Zoëga's gloss for the verb <klökkva>.) <Vandræða> is a
(genitive) plural, so it is indeed difficulties/troubles.

> Höskuldur mælti: "Skotið hefir þér þá skelk í bringu er þú
> hefir eigi átt að etja við svo mikið ofurefli."

> Hoskuld speaks: "You are seized with fear then which you
> have not had to incite with so much (ofurefli ?) (Z.
> skelkr - skýtr skelk í bringu, one is seized with fear)

> Hoskuld spoke, " You have (become) panic stricken when you
> have not had a match with such overwhelming force."

> Höskuldr spoke: “(It) has shot (struck) you with fear in
> (the) chest (ie you have become panic-stricken) then,
> when(ever) you have not had-to match-your-strength with
> such great overwhelming force.”

I don't think that it's to be understood as 'whenever'; I
could be wrong, but I think that the idea is 'You've been
seized with fear [on other occasions] when you have not
contended against such great overwhelming force', with the
double implication that Þórð panics easily but has some
reason to do so this time.

> Þá bauð Þórður Höskuldi fé til liðveislu og kvaðst eigi
> mundu smátt á sjá.

> Then Thord offered Hoskuld money to support and said (he)
> would deal liberally in the matter. (Z. smár - hann kvaðst
> eigi mundu smátt á sjá, he said he would deal liberally in
> the matter)

> Then Thord offered Hoskuld money for (his) help and said
> it would not (be) a small amount to see (or at that?).

> Then Þórðr offered Höskuld money for (his) support and
> declared-for-himself (that he) would not look on (see sja
> á) (ie he was not talking about) a small (amount).

CV s.v. <smár> explains the idiom a bit differently, as 'he
would not look minutely into it'.

> Höskuldur segir: "Reynt er það að þú vilt að engi maður
> njóti fjár þíns svo að þú sættist á það."

> Hoskuld says: "Experience is that that you would to no man
> enjoyed your wealth because you come to terms to that."
> (???)

> Hoskuld says, "It is proven that you want that no man have
> use of your money so that you reconcile at it."

> Höskuldr says: “That is proven that you want that no man
> benefits from your money such that (ie to the extent that)
> you should-reach-agreement to that.”

The ending is ambiguous, but I think that <sættist> is
indicative, not subjunctive, so just 'reach an agreement on
that'. The <svá> construction is more opaque than usual,
but I think that it's to be understood something like this:
'[It] is proved that you want that no man benefit from your
wealth thus, that you agree to it', or, less awkwardly in
English, '[It] is proved that you want that no man benefit
from your wealth with your agreement' -- 'that you do not
willingly let anyone else benefit from your wealth'.

> Þórður svarar: "Eigi skal nú það þó því að eg vil gjarna
> að þú takir handsölum á öllu fénu.

> Thord answers: "I shall not now that though therefore that
> I will willingly that you take (handsölum?) to all the
> wealth.

> Thord answers, "Now it shall not (be that way) still
> because I want eagerly that you take by handshake all (my)
> wealth.

> Þórðr answers: “That shall now not (be the case) evenso
> because I want eagerly that you take a surety on all
> the-money.

For a fairly literal translation I'd say 'That shall
nevertheless not now [be so], for I will gladly/willingly
that you take in charge all [my] wealth'.

Brian